Philosophy Courses

Topics and themes in philosophy related to central questions of philosophy: Is there a meaning to human life?, What can we know?, What is the nature of reality?, and How should we live? These questions are addressed through a rigorous examination of philosophical texts, works of literature, films, and contemporary issues. (Credit, full course.) Peterman

An introductory study of classical logic, symbolic logic, and informal reasoning. (Credit, full course.) Garland

An introduction to the problems of moral philosophy through the reading of selected works of Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Mill, Nietzsche, and Sartre. (Credit, full course.) Garland

An examination of ancient thought from Homer to Augustine, involving the study of major works of ancient philosophy in the context of their historical, cultural and religious setting. Special attention is given to how ancient thinkers understood human happiness, the place of human life in the order of the universe, the nature of reality, and the limits of human knowledge and reason. Primary emphasis is on the evaluation of these thinkers’ views. (Credit, full course.) Peters

An examination of the philosophical revolution that accompanied the rise of modern science and its distinctive set of philosophical problems. The following problems are emphasized: the nature of knowledge and perception, the existence and nature of God, the existence of the material world, the nature of linguistic meaning, the mind-body relationship, and the nature of personal identity. (Credit, full course.) Conn

An examination of recent philosophical work on a number of doctrines that are central to traditional Christian theology. Topics include, among others, the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Atonement, and the Resurrection, as well as the nature of God’s goodness and its compatibility with the traditional doctrine of Hell, and the ethics of love. Not open for credit to students who have completed Phil 213 or Phil 313. (Credit, full course.) Conn

An examination of philosophical texts of classical Confucianism and Taoism. Emphasis is given to the cultural context of these texts and to the evaluation of the worldview they articulate. (Credit, full course.) Peterman

An analysis of the major turning points in the development of the concept of the self in Western philosophical thought. The point of the analysis is to elucidate our contemporary conception and the problems with it in order to point to a solution to these problems. In so doing, possible answers to the questions of the nature of rationality, knowledge, faith, and the meaning of life will be proposed. (Credit, full course.) Staff

An examination of philosophical issues surrounding the nature of law and legal reasoning. Topics to include the following: the conditions of legal validity and the viability of natural law theory; the nature of legal normativity and its relation to other public manifestations of normativity (such as morality, religion, and etiquette); the limits and conditions of human liberty; the Constitutional status of rights to privacy; and the moral and legal justification of punishment. (Credit, full course.) Conn

A philosophical examination of moral issues in contemporary life, such as abortion, euthanasia, sexual morality, capital punishment, environmental pollution, world hunger, and nuclear disarmament. Class lectures and discussions help clarify the nature of each issue and examine the various arguments that have been advanced. (Credit, full course.) Staff

An investigation of artistic judgment, creation and the work of art itself. Based on readings of works by such authors as Kant, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Derrida, students consider art in its various manifestation, including painting, sculpture, architecture, music, dance, literature, and film. (Credit, full course.) Staff

An introduction to the classical texts of philosophical Daoism, Zhuangzi and Daodejing, and to the classical and contemporary philosophical debates and controversies these texts have generated. (Credit, full course.) Peterman

Examines a wide range of controversial issues concerning the moral responsibilities of human beings toward the natural environment with special attention to competing philosophical theories on the moral status of non-human species and natural ecosystems. (Credit, full course.) Peters

An examination of the moral dimensions of business activity, especially within the context of a democratic society. Topics may include social and economic justice, the nature of corporations, corporate accountability, social responsibility, the morality of hiring and firing, employee rights and duties, advertising, product safety, obligations to the environment, and international business. (Credit, full course.) Garland

This survey of moral issues surrounding the practice of medicine emphasizes the role of both implicit and explicit assumptions in determining what qualifies as an ethical issue. Topics may include human genome research, abortion, the practitioner/patient relationship, the distribution of care, institutional effects on practice, decisions to terminate life, and the use of animals and fetal tissue in experimental research. (Credit, full course.) Peterman

An examination of the debates and issues that are central to feminist ethics. Topics covered include some of the following feminist challenges to traditional Western ethical theories: that traditional ethical theories have overlooked the significance of the emotions for moral reasoning and justification, that traditional theories have incorrectly emphasized justice, universality, and impartiality rather than care and attachments to particular individuals, and that Western ethics includes problematic assumptions about the atomistic nature of human beings. The course also explores the contemporary debates surrounding applied issues of particular interest to feminist authors, such as filial obligations, marriage, sexuality, abortion, prostitution, and pornography. (Credit, full course.) Staff

A survey of existentialism as a philosophic movement conducted through a study of its origins in Kierkegaard and Nietzsche and its contemporary expression in the writings of such thinkers as Heidegger and Sartre. (Credit, full course.) Staff

A critical examination of selected writings of contemporary philosophers on key issues in philosophical theology. Special emphasis is given to current philosophical discussion of doctrines and problems of traditional Christian thought. (Credit, full course.) Peters

An examination of some of the major philosophical texts of the medieval period from Augustine to Aquinas, including representative works from the medieval Christian, Jewish, and Islamic traditions. This course ends with a reading of Alasdair MacIntyre's work, Three Rival Versions of Moral Inquiry, to raise the question of the validity of these medieval philosophical traditions in the pluralistic, post-modern world. (Credit, full course.) Peters

An analysis of the philosophical problem of the nature of knowledge with specific emphasis on the problem of skepticism and solutions to that problem. (Credit, full course.) Conn, Peterman

This historically oriented program of reading and discussion focuses on the basic issues and fundamental problems of metaphysics. Particular attention is paid to the place of metaphysics in traditional philosophical thought and to its contemporary status and significance. (Credit, full course.) Garland, Peters

A critical reading of selected philosophical and literary works which explore the nature and significance of religious faith. This course considers how literary narrative and philosophical analysis function distinctively in the dialogue of faith and reason. Major figures include Pascal, Hume, Kierkegaard, Walker Percy, Flannery O'Connor, and C.S. Lewis. This class is conducted as a seminar with in-class presentations and a semester-long project. (Credit, full course.) Peters

A study of the transcendentalism of Emerson and Thoreau and the pragmatism of Pierce, James, and Dewey with focus on the relationship between theories of reality and theories of value. (Credit, full course.) Garland

The aim of this course is to provide students with a working knowledge of modern logic. Three systems of logic are covered; classical sentential logic, monadic predicate calculus, and full first-order predicate calculus with identity. (Credit, full course.) Conn

A survey of the major philosophers and movements from Kant to the beginning of the twentieth century. Some of the philosophies covered include Absolute Idealism, Marxism, existentialism, British liberalism, and pragmatism. Special attention is given to Hegel, Mill, Nietzsche, and William James. (Credit, full course.) Garland

This course examines the development of Analytic Philosophy, which dominated academic philosophy in England and the United States for most of the twentieth century. Special attention focuses on Russell's and Moore's rejection of nineteenth-century idealism, American pragmatism, logical positivism, and ordinary language philosophy. Some of the recent post-modern critiques of analytic philosophy are also considered. (Credit, full course.) Conn

A study of selected Platonic dialogue — especially the early and middle dialogues — together with the ethics of Socrates and the theories of knowledge, reality, and value developed by Plato. (Credit, full course.) Garland

An examination of the philosophy of Soren Kierkegaard through a close reading of such primary texts as Either/Or, The Sickness Unto Death, Philosophical Fragments, Concluding Unscientific Postscript, and The Concept of Anxiety. Prominent themes may include, among other things, Kierkegaard's conception of the self and the various types of despair that constitute a misrelation of the self; his conception of the differing aesthetic, ethical and religious spheres of existence; his critiques of modern philosophy and the modern church; and his understanding of the significance of various philosophical and religious beliefs and activities for living well. (Credit, full course.) Peters

A study of the components and the coherence of Aristotle's general understanding of being, philosophy of nature, conception of truth, and theory of man and the state. (Credit, full course.) Peters

This course examines historical and contemporary perspectives on war and peace; provides an overview of classical, modern, and contemporary theories of the nature of justice between states and the moral basis of war; and examines just war, pacifism, and terrorism in the Christian and Islamic traditions. This course cannot be used in fulfillment of any general distribution requirement. (Credit, full course.) McKeen, Peters

The metaphysics of Alfred North Whitehead, studied both in its historical development and in its systematic expression in Process and Reality. (Credit, full course.) Garland

An examination and evaluation of Wittgenstein's philosophical views through a close reading of various writings from Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus to Philosophical Investigations. (Credit, full course.) Peterman

Examines selected writings from The Birth of Tragedy to The Will to Power. Emphasis is given to close reading of texts and critical evaluation of their main ideas. (Credit, full course.) Peterman

Examines contemporary debate on a selected topic such as ethical relativism, the relation of mind to body, or the nature of free will. (Credit, full course.) Staff

(Credit, full course.) Staff

(Credit, half course.) Staff

Students prepare a senior thesis proposal on a selected topic and organize a plan of study for the comprehensive exam.  (Credit, half course.)  Staff

Students write a senior thesis on a selected topic under supervision of the instructor and a faculty advisor.  (Credit, full course.)  Staff